The term “Customer Journey” refers to the process of interaction between brand and consumer that underlies the purchase path: we could imagine it as a real journey that starts from the more or less conscious need/desire of the potential consumer and ends with the purchase.
There are many stages of interaction between brand and consumer during this “journey.” Knowing them, being able to map them becomes essential to best accompany the potential consumer to become a customer.
Various models related to the Customer Journey have been developed over time: especially before the advent of the Web, a model was theorised that, along the lines, of the classic AIDA model included 5 basic stages.
Let us analyse them together:
- AWARENESS: that is, the consumer’s awareness of the existence of a product/service that can satisfy their desire/need;
- FAMILIARITY: This is the stage when the product becomes familiar and recognisable in the eyes of the consumer among a wide range of similar products;
- CONSIDERATION: This is the stage preparatory to choice in which the consumer seeks information;
- PURCHASE: This is the actual purchase phase;
- LOYALTY: This represents probably the most delicate phase in which it becomes necessary for the company to strengthen the relationship with the newly acquired customer in order to build loyalty.
That model envisaged a linear and consequential development of the different stages in the consumer’s purchasing journey, a model that is difficult to apply to an omnichannel context characterised by the significant multiplication of touchpoints between company and consumer.
This is why in 2009, McKinsey developed a circular purchasing process model that, in fact, involves a continuous confrontation between company and consumer at every stage, a confrontation that does not end with the purchase, but continues afterwards, subjecting companies and brands to continuous consumer judgment.
This introduces the concept of the consumer decision journey, characterised by alternating moments of interest and decision making across different channels and touchpoints both online and offline.
An increasingly in-depth knowledge of our users’ needs and the ability to reach them at every touchpoint by offering them personalised and consistent customer experiences becomes the real key to driving business success, and in this an effective marketing automation strategy supported by audience analytics activities can really make a difference.
